The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its third progress report on the proposals going forward for the nationwide Scores on the Doors (SotD) scheme. But it said agreements have been difficult to reach and further discussions are needed.

At a meeting on 21 July, the UK-wide SotD Steering Group and its Working Groups were unable to agree upon “how the top tier of the six-tier national scheme should be ‘mapped’ from the numerical score derived from the intervention-rating scheme at Annex 5 of the Food Law Code of Practice”.

The Group also reached a stalemate on how the concept of ‘broad compliance’ should be ‘mapped’. “In the light of this, the Group has referred these issues back to the FSA for a decision.”

The FSA said the decisions were difficult, due to the complexity of the issues and polarised views of key stakeholders.

Further discussions are to take place and it is hoped that decisions will be reached in September.

For more information and the chance to share your views, visit www.food.gov.uk.